Felicia Slattery: The Key to Networking

On one of the online networking forums I’m a part of we often talk about getting business. Recently one of the members posted this:

“…networking is about “giving” first, then building relationships and then referrals or businesses start rolling in automatically after that.”

I posted a note to the group about that and thought I’d copy it here, too.

There are too many people who don’t “get” that networking is first about helping OTHER people. It’s not what I can get for me, but what I can do for you. I see so often in live networking groups and in on-line networking groups that too many people are looking out for Number 1 and don’t really care about helping others. It’s a sad shame because if they would stop looking in the mirror and look around themselves, they would find so many people to help!!

What I like to think about is not that the people I help will be the people who are so grateful for my brilliance {wink} that they just have to buy something from me in the near future. When I help someone I get karmic “brownie points” so to speak and somewhere down the line that help will be returned to me tenfold. I don’t know where or how it will happen, but it always does.

Maybe a “lurker” who reads posts but doesn’t reply will like what I’ve said, remember it & refer me to a friend. Or maybe someone will refer a book to me that turns out to be the best marketing book I ever read and offer a free 4-week session around it (that happened to me – yes, for free!).

But it all goes back to my willingness to help people. Not because I’ll get something nice from some “universe” in return, but because it’s good business practice to help other people – and I like doing it. It makes us a part of the human race to say “I know something that can help you – here it is.” I love hooking great people up with other great people or ideas!

Just my thoughts on the way networking is supposed to be! I’m stepping down from my soap box now!